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Put on your brimmed hat, gloves and clogs. Stretch your green thumb. The sizzling days of summer are fading to the refreshing temperatures of fall—the perfect time for planting cool-season vegetables and herbs. Artichokes, spinach, radishes, cilantro and parsley are favorite headliners of late-season gardens. Whether you are new to garden planting or know your way around compost and N-P-K ratios, we’ve got several tips and reminders for your fall gardening.

When Karen arrived for work one afternoon and was kicked out of the home of a memory care client in her care who didn’t seem to recognize her, she didn’t panic. Instead, Karen walked out the door and decided to improvise. She put her hair up in a ponytail and knocked on the door. Her client greeted her with a big smile and invited her to come in the house.

August 03, 2017Hilary Young
#Aging
#Caregiver Help
#Health Living
#Support for Adult Caregiving

Summer is finally here, which means that it’s the best time of year to be outside taking in the glory of nature. But from the mountains to the shore, the presence of teeny-weeny ticks can lead to big, long-term health problems for both people and pets.

The goal of dog therapy is to provide comfort and joy to those who are sick, stressed, anxious or depressed. Many people, however, have some misconceptions about the dogs that are used in dog therapy programs. We’ve identified five of the most important things to know about therapy dogs below.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 50 percent of people age 65 or older in the United States were diagnosed with arthritis between 2013 and 2015. While medications can provide temporary relief for joint pain, staying active is crucial to managing arthritis on a regular basis.

Moms and grandmas shape the development of our palate and food preferences. For this Mother’s Day, we talked to nine members of the Right at Home team, who shared their favorite dishes to honor the important ladies in their lives.

Matt sees similarities between his past rabbinical work and his career today as the owner and managing director of Right at Home in north suburban Chicago, working alongside his wife and business partner, Rachel. Helping preserve family stories and memories is central to both the Fields’ Jewish life and their in-home caregiving services.

Debbie is a new grandmother who is looking forward to not only spending time with her granddaughter, but seeing her own mother interact with the newest family member. Four generations will be together this year. She explains, “Family is really core of the religion for me.”

Educating people about nutritious food is the first step toward achieving health empowerment. The second step is actually making nutritious food available to them. Through their work with food, the Atwoods are potentially empowering an entire post-retirement community to take control of their health.

Debbie Main wants seniors to know that they can eat healthy food without sacrificing flavor. She says that sometimes making better food choices means making a favorite dish with healthier ingredients, but she also encourages older adults to be adventurous and try new foods.

For 16 years, Collazo has run her own catering company while taking care of her mother who has dementia and diabetes and her 26-year-old daughter who has autism. When her friend Marisol Maribel asked if she would stand in for a caregiver job, she thought to herself, “Why not?”

International Women’s Day celebrates the achievement of women. The theme of this year is #BeBoldForChange, which encourages all of us to play an active role in making gender equality a reality. In January, hundreds of thousands of women attended the Women’s March in the United States. Here’s a look at some of the major accomplishments of the women’s movement over the years.

The NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, or “March Madness,” begins March 14! From chips and dip to hot wings, there’s no reason any guest with health issues should miss out. Since party food typically is not healthy or diabetic-friendly, we have a few tips to modify your March Madness favorites!

If you have a leap year birthday, are you officially 15 instead of 60 or are you 20 instead of 80? With February 29 appearing on the calendar only every four years, what do you and other “leapers” or “leaplings” do when official documents do not recognize the actual date of your birth?

Did you know that sensory, cognitive and physiological aging can lead to complications of your dental health? While losing your teeth with age is not inevitable, your mouth does undergo changes as you age. Make sure you visit your dentist regularly to get cleanings and checkups because there is a strong connection between your oral health and your overall health.

Who says your Fat Tuesday menu has to be loaded with fat? Or with ridiculously high calories? Or take hours and hours to cook? We found a few lighter-fare Mardi Gras recipes so you can enjoy the traditional Cajun and Creole flavors, without making compromises on nutrition.

The 1954 U.S. Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education was supposed to end segregation in public schools once and for all. But in Prince Edward County, Virginia, the local Commission on Public Education launched a “massive resistance” to the Supreme Court’s decision by shutting down the public school system in 1959. Here is how Moses Scott overcame adversity.

Capturing the oral histories of our elders is a beautiful way to make sure their contributions and wisdom are not forgotten. Firsthand accounts of the past can help educate future generations, which is of paramount importance. Thanks to our high-tech world, it’s now easier than ever to record our elders for posterity, but during the Great Depression, it took considerably more effort.

For both men and women, heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, killing 25 percent of all people. February is American Heart Month, a reminder to protect heart health. High LDL cholesterol, high blood pressure and smoking are chief risk factors for heart disease, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that almost half of Americans have at least one of these three risk factors.

When a medical emergency occurs, every minute counts. Putting systems in place to help you be proactive in an emergency could potentially save your life, or a loved one’s life. But how can you possibly know what you’ll need in an emergency before it happens? We’ve got you covered with this Emergency Health Information Checklist.

With the immense collection of American literature, it is nearly impossible to narrow a list of 10 best books to read. So we picked these 10 best books from the 1950s through 1980s as favorites of the boomer generation (born 1946 –1964). These children’s classics to fiction standouts helped shaped the ingenuity, determination and humor of a generation of astronauts and politicians to rock stars and teachers.

January is Glaucoma Awareness Month, which is important, considering that glaucoma is the leading cause of blindness across the globe. It is estimated that over 3 million people are living with glaucoma here in the United States, although many may not even realize that they have it.

Get fit. Worry less. Be happy. Read more. The New Year kicks off with millions of people around the world vowing to improve their lives or at least make a list of habits they’d like to change or deeds they’d like to accomplish in the coming year.

‘Tis the season to buy gifts for family and friends, but in the hustle and bustle of the holidays, you may be the target of opportunistic crooks. Yuletide bandits often zero in on unsuspecting older adults. But here are a number of holiday safety tips to keep your purchases safe from sticky fingers.

You swirl another ladle of gravy on the mashed potatoes and gulp down another helping of turkey. But before the pumpkin pie is cut, you start to feel that internal restlessness. What happens to your body’s digestion when you overeat?

Decreased mobility due to aging is not irreversible, even though studies show that people typically lose 8 percent or more muscle mass every decade after age 40. Muscle mass gives you strength and is associated with mobility. For some older adults, it is also vital to their independence.

As a trained exercise physiologist, Dr. Berg used to give lectures on diabetes around Omaha, Nebraska. Eventually, he decided to bring people in and show them what to do to meet their needs, instead of just talking about it. The "SELF" program was born as a result.

October 24, 2016Michele Fan
#Health Living
#Aging
#Planning for Eldercare

Every year, Americans celebrate National Dessert Day (October 14) by sampling a full menu of sweets. Do you know which American age group is most likely to pick up their dessert fork or to dip a spoon in some dessert decadence?

A study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association finds that Americans who watch at least three hours of television a day double their risk of dying prematurely compared to people who watch TV an hour or less a day.

While pill organizers can help avoid medication errors, there must be a good fit between the user and the pill organizer, otherwise, the benefits of using a pill organizer will be lost, and may actually impair one’s health.

Spending time with grandkids isn’t just about making sure they have a good time. It’s an opportunity to teach them how to treat other people. If we act like a doormat, we teach them that it is OK to be rude and inconsiderate.

According to a new report, pill organizers may actually be responsible for causing dangerous overdoses. Individuals who started to use a pill organizer suffered impaired mobility, episodes of dangerously low blood sugar, and falls.